Mat Dawson
Mathias "Mat" Dawson was a member of the RPD's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team in the late 1990's. He was assigned as a back-up officer to the RPD's STARS Bravo team in July of 1998, and it was then that he first encountered the evil of Umbrella. Mat Dawson was a former member of the Raccoon City police department. A childhood friend of Rebecca Chambers, he became involved in the biohazard in the Arklay Forest in July of 1998. Surviving that nightmare, he returned home with the other RPD members, only to have the catastrophe follow him. Background A young man from Harvardville, Arizona, Mathias (“Mat”) Dawson was born in January of 1979. Shortly thereafter, he was orphaned, being taken in by his grandparents. Growing up, Mat had one constant friend (a pudgy boy named Tommy Webb), until meeting his neighbor, Rebecca Chambers. The two became fast friends, although they lost touch when Rebecca moved off to college. Mat took a brief job as a summer camp counselor in the summer of 1996, where he gained a love for children. The next year he enlisted in Raccoon City Police Department in Raccoon City, Colorado. Although he hadn’t attended college, Mat demonstrated a quick grasp of urban pacification (riot control) tactics, as well as a knack for explosives. These traits earned him a spot with the RPD’s elite Special Weapons and Tactics branch. The Ecliptic Express Incident “Hang on a minute. Before we go blowing holes in things and wasting ammunition, why not try this?”-Mat to Billy, before producing the Engine key Mat was sent in with STARS Bravo team after Bravo team’s captain requested a SWAT officer (Enrico had requested Mat’s partner, LJ, but he was sick and Mat had to fill in). When Bravo team’s helicopter crashed, he was paired with Rebecca Chambers to scout out the terrain. Together they discovered the military transport that had been carrying Billy Coen, an ex-marine wanted for murder in Africa. Soon after, the police split up to search for Coen. Mat followed a trail of what appeared to be wild dogs (actually cerberri), but was pulled of that mission to locate Edward Dewey, who’d gone silent. Instead, Mat managed to locate Jason Allen, the RPD’s informant, who’d been mauled by infected dogs. Allen reanimated, but Mat had no idea how to take the zombie down; he was only saved by the timely intervention of Edward, who killed Allen with his sniper rifle, before being set upon by more cerberri. Mat gave chase, eventually encountering what he believed to be a crazed cult leader (James Marcus). Marcus attacked Mat and infected Edward with the T-virus before the two managed to get away, a pack of cerberri and the Stinger BOW in hot pursuit. Mat discovered the Ecliptic Express, a train apparently abandoned in the forest. He managed to throw Edward through a window (much to the startlement of Rebecca, who was inside conducting her own investigation), before having to retreat again, this time from the Stinger. Mat entered the brake van of the train, where he met Rain Ocampo, an Umbrella mercenary. Rain explained a little of the t-virus’s nature, before informing Mat that Rebecca was onboard the train. She then jumped off the Express, which had by this time begun to move. Mat moved deeper into the train, encountering James Shade, Rain’s superior. Shade instructed Mat to stay out of his way, promising to kill him if the two met again. Shortly thereafter, Mat was reunited with Rebecca, who by this point had formed an alliance with Billy Coen, also trapped on the train. Mat agreed to help them stop the train, but was thrown off after applying the brakes. Rebecca found part of his uniform amongst the train’s wreckage, and assumed he was dead. The Hive Biohazard “You left something of an impression on me earlier. So now I think I’ll leave one on you.” Mat upon encountering James Marcus in the Hive. Mat survived falling from the train, however, and made his way into the Arklay Forest, in the hopes of linking back up with the STARS. Instead he encountered an Umbrella commando team, sent to secure a top-secret underground laboratory called the Hive. Having already met Rain Ocampo, the team’s current leader, on board the train, Mat was rather grudgingly accepted into the group, before they infiltrated the Hive. On the way, one member, Alfonso Warner, became infected when the group encountered a flock of crows infected with the T-virus. Upon entering the Hive, the group was separated by the RED QUEEN, the lab’s artificial intelligence. Mat ended up with Chad Kaplan, the team’s computer specialist and one of the RED QUEEN’s designers. The two became separated, however, after being attacked by a group of crimson heads and James Shade, who’d been infected by a special strain of the T-virus, combined with one of Marcus’s leeches. Shade lured Mat into a lab, where he was confronted by James Marcus. Marcus promised Mat to reunite him with the others, if he could kill Shade. Forced to fight the infected Umbrella commando, Mat killed him. Marcus kept to his word and allowed Mat to leave. Shortly thereafter, he encountered Rain, only to learn she’d been infected with the t-virus. Rain was still strong enough to fight off a group of hunters, and they eventually managed to make contact with Kaplan, who’d found his way to the Hive’s control room. With his direction, they linked up with Olga Danilova and JD Salinas, who’d been trapped by Spence Parks, a traitorous Umbrella employee who’d caused the Hive outbreak. Rain began to succumb to the virus, however, and they had to split up: while the others attempted to fight their way to the infirmary, Mat was sent to reactivate the RED QUEEN, in order to complete the Umbrella team’s mission. Upon doing so, he was attacked by Parks, who was then killed by an Umbrella BOW called the Parasite. Mat barely escaped with his life. The RED QUEEN’s activation initiated a fail-safe, thawing most of the zombiefied researchers, which killed Olga Danilova shortly after she’d administered a T-virus antidote to Rain. Mat met up with the two surviving commandoes, who decided to take down Umbrella, rather than allow them to continue bioweapons research. With some assistance from Kaplan, they set out to destroy the RED QUEEN, now under Marcus’s puppet Timothy Cain’s control. Before they had gotten far, though, JD was killed by the Parasite, and Rain began to succumb to the t-virus. Rain and Mat realized they wouldn’t escape the Hive alive, and decide instead to activate the lab’s self-destruct system, hopefully dealing Umbrella a crippling blow in the process. Cain attempted to stop them, but Rain apparently killed him. They managed to make it to the Hive’s garage, only to find that the doors were locked. Rain ultimately sacrificed herself to open them, allowing Mat to escape. But the Parasite had chosen to make good its own departure, and Mat had to fight it to get away. In the end, the Hive exploded before Mat could escape cleanly, and he was thrown out of the huge loading dock, landing unconscious in a tree. Weapons of Choice “I wasn’t the first on the draw, but it looks like I’m a better shot.” Mat commenting on his marksmanship. Mat entered the Arklay Forest "loaded for bear," carrying three weapons and a knife. His handgun is a standard issue FN/Browning Hi Power, the same 9mm pistol used by most of the RPD. In addition to this, he also carried a personal weapon, an FN P90 he bought at a consignment auction. Mat's P90 is something of an anachronism, being the triple-rail variant only historically introduced after 1998. It's likely Mat's SMG is a prototype sent to the RPD for evaluation, but which was ultimately ruled out as a suitable duty weapon. Mat's knife is a semi-standard RPD SWAT knife, which he breaks while fighting a hunter inside the Hive. This knife was small and light, allowing for fast swinging. The RPD emblem was stamped on the blade. He acquires Rain's Umbrella knife shortly thereafter, which he continues to carry to this day. Rain's knife features an Umbrella emblem set in the hilt. Mat also mentions having carried a Heckler and Koch MP-5 in the past.